


What About Angels?

by witchofink



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, hospitalized!Lena, music therapist Kara, no death i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-20 07:54:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15529635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchofink/pseuds/witchofink
Summary: "It had been the start of fall the first time Kara met a real angel. Not the ones in books with divine powers, no this angel was human but with just as much divine nature as those in fiction. It was in her laugh, her smile, the way she lit up a room just by looking at a someone. Her heart was so full of love and goodness. It was fall when Kara first met the love of her life."Kara Danvers has spent her whole life wanting to make people happy. She joined the Supers Foundation to make children in hospitals happy when they saw her as Supergirl, started working towards a music therapy degree to help people through music, and she volunteers at the hospital she hopes to work at with her adoptive mother every chance she gets. But now, after one fateful, fall day, there's one person Kara wants to make smile more than anything. It was that fall day that she swore she met an angel.





	1. Angels Are Real

It had been the start of fall the first time Kara met a real angel. Not the ones in books with divine powers, no this angel was human but with just as much divine nature as those in fiction. It was in her laugh, her smile, the way she lit up a room just by looking at a someone. Her heart was so full of love and goodness. It was fall when Kara first met the love of her life.  
  
National City General was one of the top hospitals in California and where the Supers Foundation did most of their work visiting hospitalized children dressed as superheroes of their own design. It was Kara’s favorite thing she did four times a week besides studying to become a music therapist. Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces when they saw her group and just talking to the kids was the highlight of her life. All her life she wanted to help people, to make them smile and feel better, and the fact she could was amazing. She was also almost done with her degree which meant she could start working on her career as a music therapist for real. She already had an offer from the hospital to intern there.  
  
“Supergirl!” a child squealed, calling her by her heroine’s name. Kara let a bright grin form on her lips as she posed with her hands on her hips. The little girl with dark curls squealing with excitement was new but she was extremely cute and her energy was contagious. “Billy told me about you! You’re so cool! I’m Addi.” She turned causing Kara to follow her gaze and her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of a woman with dark, raven locks sitting in a wheelchair nearby. “I told you she would be as cool as Billy said.”  
  
The woman smiled and nodded her head towards Kara. “Why don’t you talk with her and see if she will play? I’ll be here,” the woman said. Vibrant green eyes found Kara’s blue and she felt the breath in her throat get trapped inside. She was pale and looked as frail as some of the children at the hospital. She sat in a wheelchair and, as Kara tore her eyes from the woman to look, there was a nurse standing against the wall next to her smiling.  
“Supergirl, can you introduce me to the rest of the Supers?” Addi asked as she tugged at the red cape on Kara’s back. “Please?”  
  
Shaking off the mixture of feelings the woman brewed up inside her, Kara grinned at the girl and lifted her up into her arms. “I’m going to introduce you to everyone on my team,” she told her spinning twice around letting her cape spin around them both. Addi giggled and Kara could almost forget how a little girl like her, so full of life, was now in a hospital for something that could be life threatening. “Up, up, and away, Addi!”  
  
The child giggled, her laughter mixing in with the other laughs and excited chatter from the rest of the children. There were four of them there today from the Supers Foundation and it was adorable how the children took to her friends in their costumes. J’onn had two boys hanging off his biceps, clearly amazed by his Martian special effects make up and the suit the Foundation’s costume designer Winn made for J’onn’s Martian Manhunter. Soon, other boys began to try to jump onto him and the older man stumbled as he laughed a deep rumble that resonated deep in his chest and stomach. Any boy not with him had gravitated to Mike dressed as his hero Valor suit. He had a boyish charm about him and a way with the children. He looked over at the blonde bringing Addi over to the rest of the group and gave a charming grin.  
  
“Hey, Supergirl,” a woman called out from where she sat at a table. Kara turned to look at Lucy in her Superwoman suit, a cocky smirk on her face as a few children behind her look excitedly at the two of them. Kara knew exactly what was about to happen and she set Addi down to go over to a table. Dramatically, she moved her cape out behind her to sit down and she rolled her neck as she cracked her knuckles.  
  
“I bet Superwoman will win.”  
  
“No, Supergirl will win, she always wins.”  
  
“She lost to Martian Manhunter last week.”  
  
Kara held back a smile and soft laugh from hearing the whispers around her and Lucy as they grasped each other’s hands to arm wrestle. It was one of the kids’ favorite thing to watch them do these little tests of strength or any other in character things. Addi seemed to be practically vibrating as the woman from before got wheeled over by her nurse and the child climbed onto her lap.  
  
“Who do you think will win?” Addi asked the woman. Her eyes shone with a bright excitement and sent a wave of warmth through Kara’s chest.  
  
It was the way children like Addi looked at her that made her realize how much she loved this, how much she loved dressing up as a superhero and seeing the children’s little faces light up with joy. If she could do this for others, if she could bring a light into their lives when the darkness closed in, then that was all she could ask for.  
  
Lucy’s arm flexed as the she gave the Kara’s hand a few squeezes, signaling for their little show to start, and both women began making exaggerated fake efforts to pin the other’s arm to the table. Cheers and encouragements filled the room and Kara felt her lips curl in a smile. They had scripted Lucy to win this one and after a few more moments of their “test of strength” Lucy slowly pinned Kara’s arm down, her acting making it seem like Kara didn’t just let her win.  
  
The children fell into a mix of cheers and disappointment as a few kids hopped around Lucy excitedly and a few others told Kara that she should have won. When blue eyes lifted to find green staring amused at her, the voices and hands clinging to her faded leaving just that woman in the wheelchair. They held each other’s gaze for what felt like hours before the woman clutched at her chest, coughing severely, and her nurse moved swiftly to her side.  
  
Before Kara could rush to help, a hand grasped her shoulder and she found herself face to face with J’onn. He didn’t need to say a single word for her to understand the look he was giving her. Their time was up with the children and Kara would just be in the way as the woman’s nurse cared for her. But the sounds of coughing so harsh her own throat ached made her struggle not to turn to go to the woman’s side. Instead, she let the hugging arms of children being led away bring her focus back where it needed to be and said her goodbyes as she prayed that the raven haired woman would be okay.  
  
                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                            *~*~*

  
  
“Are you really going to the hospital again? We just left hours ago,” Lucy said as she watched Kara get dressed in their shared apartment. “I don’t get why you go so often, shouldn’t you be studying or something?”  
  
Kara glanced at Lucy’s reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall and continued tying her hair in a ponytail. “You know I plan to intern there and I want to build a good reputation there. Eliza can help me get in, but I can’t just rely on other people all the time.”  
  
“Doesn’t your sister pay for this apartment?” Lucy countered.  
  
“Don’t you live here for free?” Kara pointed out with a smirk as she stepped back for a better look at the dress and cardigan she was wearing. Contact lenses had been switched out for glasses and Supergirl had been replaced by Kara Danvers.  
  
It was strange the shift between herself and the superhero persona she embraced during her visits with the Supers Foundation. Kara Danvers was sweet and warm but a bit hesitant and timid, easily flustered too. Supergirl was strong, confident, and brave. Kara often tried to channel those parts of Supergirl but in some cases like dealing with professors it was difficult. Or talking to attractive people. But, it was easier at the hospital or working on music to feel confident, to feel super.  
  
“Just, get some Chinese on the way home,” Lucy grumbled as she went back to her book.  
  
Kara chuckled as she grabbed her music sheets to pack into her bag and pushed her glasses up from where they had slid down her nose. She really should get some new ones, they didn’t sit right after all the times she fell asleep at her keyboard, working on her music sheets, or during her studying. As she slipped her extra hair tie onto her wrist, she looked at the dining table where the most recent sheets she had been working on rested near her ukulele, most of them covers or personal songs. Hesitating a moment, she grabbed the sheets not for the ukulele and moved towards the door.  
  
“Don’t forget your shoes,” Lucy said without looking up from her book.  
  
Kara blushed as she realized she had forgotten to put on her shoes and slipped on a pair of flats before heading to the door again.  
  
“Don’t forget your phone,” Lucy added as she turned a page.  
  
Kara pulled her phone from her pocket and grinned defiantly as Lucy glanced her way. “I didn’t forget my phone, so suck it.”  
  
“Don’t forget your keys,” Lucy added smirking as Kara’s grin vanished as she realized she left her keys in her room. “I might not have plans later, but they can be useful if you need to key a car or someone.”  
  
“Why are you so violent?” Kara asked as she emerged from her bedroom with her keys, slipping them into the front pocket of her bag. “And the fact your dad is in the military is not an acceptable reason.”  
  
Lucy simply shrugged before returning to her book, waving as Kara left their apartment. With a sigh, Kara pulled out her earbuds and slipped them into her pocket with her phone. On the bus she would listen to music so she could mentally compose pieces and songs for when she officially started working as a music therapist. She hoped she could work with children, but she would be happy to work with any type of patient if it meant she could make their lives better. All she wanted to do was help people through music like music had helped her as a child after she had lost her parents.  
  
“Kara!”  
  
She turned at the sound of her name and smiled seeing Winn rushing towards her on the busy sidewalk of National City. She had no clue what he did for a living, so she didn’t know why he was out and about mid-afternoon on a weekday. “Hey, Winn, what are you doing?”  
  
He raised a bag that seemed to be from a fabric store and smiled. “I have a side business where people commission me for cosplays. I usually work with your sister-“  
  
“You work with Alex?” Kara asked as she continued her path to the bus stop. Winn followed along, nodding, and she wondered why her sister never mentioned that they worked together. “So, you’re a government agent too?”  
  
Winn paled and shook his head. “God, no. I work in tech and I help design better gear hence why I’m not at work now. Speaking of design, I just had to watch I don’t know how many episodes of an anime called Love Live and if I hear ‘Nico Nico Ni’ one more time I’m going to kick something.” When he said the line Kara assumed was from the anime, he did a weird gesture in imitation of the show and several people gave weird looks as they passed them.  
  
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Kara told him as she stopped at the stop. She adjusted the strap of her bag, hoisting it up further on her shoulder. “Couldn’t you have just looked at images of whatever outfit this person wears?”  
  
Winn shrugged and looked at the people on the sidewalk over Kara’s shoulder. “I like to know what it is I’m making. Beyond the design, beyond the images I can find online. I want to know who the cosplayer is becoming. What they are embracing by dressing up as the character. Most cosplayers cosplay cause the character is something they want to be or had some kind of impact on their lives. It’s why I would ask you all such in depth questions on your hero personas.”  
  
Kara looked at him and felt a deeper respect for Winn. She felt like most people who did what he did would just look up images and be done with it. Instead, he makes sure he can bring to life some part of that character through the outfits he makes to help whoever ordered it to embrace the character themselves. It was like Kara with Supergirl. She didn’t feel like Kara Danvers, the orphan who felt out of place most of the time, no she felt like Supergirl, the Girl of Steel.  
  
The sound of the bus pulling up cut their conversation short and Kara waved her goodbyes as she climbed into the vehicle. Pulling out the earbuds in her pocket, she scrolled through her selection of music as she popped a bud into each of her ears. The sound of Farewell (in a pretentious way) by Cicada filled her ears and she smiled as she gazed out the window. It was on her list to learn how to play along with another rather sad song.  
  
It took three songs to get to National City General and Kara swiftly got off the bus. The path to the front of the hospital had a line of trees bordering either side of the wide path and there were benches between every other pair, probably for any family member or members that couldn’t take the sterile smell of the hospital if a family member was in surgery or dying. Though, it could just be for those passing by that wanted to sit in the serenity of nature, unaware of what could be occurring inside the large building nearby.  
  
Kara looked up at the hospital and smiled softly as she entered to start volunteering. She usually went to the area where most long term patients stayed, playing the piano in the common area if she wasn’t given anything else to do. Unfortunately, she was given a duty.  
  
“Sorry, as much as your music makes a lot of the patients happy, we need you to help with this patient. Her personal nurse had a family emergency in Metropolis and left a couple of hours ago, so she just needs some company. We don’t have anyone today to assign solely to her.” The nurse working the front desk gave her an apologetic smile and handed a file to Kara. “That has her name, room, and any basics to know about her. She’s pretty silent so today might be a boring day. Sorry, Kara.”  
  
Kara took the file and smiled at the woman. “Hey, not every day is going to be super exciting, plus if this-“ She paused to look at the name of the patient she would be keeping company. “If Lena Luthor has a personal nurse then that means she’s staying here long term, right? Yeah, it says here she’s here until further notice. So, once I start my internship here then that means I might see her more or even work with her.”  
  
“Always the positive one,” the nurse commented as she got back to her work.  
  
Kara checked the room number and waved at the woman before heading for the elevators. Pushing the button for the fifth floor, Kara stared at the last name of the patient she would be keeping company and something nagged at her over it. When the elevator doors opened she shrugged to herself and walked to where Lena’s room was. It was on the opposite end of the floor from the elevators which gave Kara plenty of time to run into a few people she recognized. However, she didn’t stop to talk to anyone and soon enough she was in front of the door of the room Lena was in.  
  
“Room 523,” Kara read to herself. She put the file into her bag, the most useful information it had being the room number since they couldn’t provide any further info to her, and she knocked on the door.  
  
“Come in,” a familiar voice said from the other side of the door. When Kara opened the door, she found the woman from earlier sitting on the plush hospital bed in the room with an open book on her lap. “Oh, you must be the super volunteer they sent to keep me company.” The woman from before, Lena, chuckled at her own pun and gave Kara a heavenly, although sad, smile. “I told them I’m okay on my own, I will be fine. Jess is just gone for a few days and Eve will be free to take over tomorrow. I don’t-“  
  
Whatever she was about to say was cut off by a violent cough that caused Lena to curl in on herself as her hand covered her mouth. Immediately, Kara was by her side, rubbing Lena’s back soothingly, and up close she could see why the other woman was staying at the hospital long term. Even through the thin shirt Lena wore, there was no significant warmth emanating from her body and her skin was worryingly pale. It felt like if she just touched her the wrong way Lena would shatter like a porcelain doll.  
  
When the coughing subsided, Lena slowly uncurled herself and looked down at her hand which had flecks of red and green covering her palm. “Can you get me a tissue from the bedside table?” she asked without looking up. Kara did as asked, but the terrified look in Lena’s eyes lingered in her mind even though when she turned back with the tissues an emotionless expression had appeared on Lena’s face.  
  
Kara sat in the bedside chair as she watched Lena wipe at her hand, frowning when she had to press harder to get all of it off. “So,” Lena sighed as she continued to wipe, “is this what you look like without the cape? You seem quite different- ah, can you pass me the hand sanitizer?- with your hair up and with glasses. I wouldn’t have recognized you if it wasn’t for your eyes. No one else possesses that level of concern for other human beings. By the way, what’s your name? I’m sure you know mine by now.”  
  
Kara handed the woman the sanitizer and pulled the chair closer before sitting. “It’s Kara Danvers. And I wear that cape because I care. I want to work here one day and I want to help people smile. I’m not cut out to be a doctor, but I want to help people through music. If I can make someone smile for just a moment, then it’s all worth it.”  
  
That heavenly smile returned to Lena’s face and Kara felt as though she was seeing an angel. Lena was beautiful, ethereal, and even though she was ill she seemed to be glowing. The rest of the world dimmed in comparison for Kara and it felt so odd that she couldn’t help but feel this. What was it about Lena that seemed to draw her in like this?  
  
“Oh, music? What do you play?” Lena asked, closing her book and setting it to her side. She seemed to be avoiding any big movements and reaching as much as possible. It was as if putting in even the slightest effort into moving would exhaust her. But her eyes held a hint of exhaustion and there were dark circles under her eyes which stood out against ghostly white skin.  
  
Kara smiled and noticed the wheelchair near the bed on the other side of the bed from where she was. “I play the piano mostly. I also play the ukulele and a bit of the guitar. If you want I can show you. I brought some sheet music.”  
  
Lena’s expression grew solemn and she glanced out the window behind Kara. Her eyes squinted just the slightest at the light coming through and a deep breath caused her chest to rise and fall greatly. “I haven’t rested since going down to see your group playing with the children. My nurse had to leave in such a rush and I had to wait a bit for my medication. I’m sorry, maybe later if you are still here and I wake up with enough time to watch.”  
  
Kara felt disappointment lance through her heart. For some reason, she had wanted to play for Lena. There was something so magnetic about Lena and it confused her so much. She had only met her today, but she knew she wanted to know her more, learn everything she could about her. Based on the look in Lena’s eyes, perhaps Kara wasn’t the only one feeling like this.  
  
Kara nodded and stood to pull back her chair noiselessly. “Of course, if you need rest that’s perfectly okay. I’ll just be-“  
  
“Can you find a nurse to help me put on the electrodes for my monitor?” Lena points to the Holter monitor on a dresser Kara hadn’t noticed before against the wall with the door. “Or just hand it to me and step out so I can do it myself.”  
  
There was a level of exhaustion on Lena’s face that hadn’t been there before and guilt filled Kara’s stomach at the fact she didn’t realized until then how tired Lena was. Whatever had Lena hospitalized probably tired her out easily and she was an idiot for not noticing. Wordlessly, she grabbed the monitor and handed it over to Lena before swiftly exiting the room. Outside of the room, she leaned against the wall next to the door and sighed.  
  
Negative thoughts swarmed in from the darkest depths of her mine and doubt formed a haze inside her head. If she couldn’t even tell when someone was hiding their exhaustion, how could she even think of working in a hospital? Maybe she should just join a private practice or something. Yet, it felt like Lena had gone from energetic to exhausted in seconds. Had she just been putting on an act to hide how tired she was? She knew nothing about Lena, despite the sudden urge to change that, and she had no clue why Lena would cover up something like that when it could be harmful to her. Based on the Holter monitor, something was wrong with Lena’s heart and, while Kara was no doctor, she doubted that reaching a point of exhaustion that could slip through whatever mask Lena had been figuratively wearing would be good for her heart or whatever she had.  
  
A clatter from inside Lena’s room startled Kara from her thoughts and she rushed back inside to find Lena clutching her chest, breaths coming in shallow and ragged, and a shattered phone on the floor. There was a terrified and panicked look on the woman’s face and her skin had lost all its color. Pain filled her eyes and began to show on her face as a whimper of pain passed her lips.  
  
“Lena?” Kara asked hesitantly before a better idea popped into her mind. She farted back out of the room and rushed to the nurses’ station. A man was at a computer typing until he looked up at her confused. “Room 523, Lena Luthor. She’s clutching at her chest and-“  
  
“Fuck, not again,” he cursed as she scrambled up and, after dialing a number on the phone sitting on the desk, muttered something inaudible into the phone. He dashed past her to a cabinet full of medication and supplies and Kara couldn’t keep up mentally. “Stay here,” he instructed before grabbing some stuff and going to Lena’s room.  
  
Kara felt her hands shake as paid settled in. After the way that man reacted it felt like Lena was dying. Was she? From coughing up blood to getting exhausted easily to the heart problems, it was a possible conclusion. Then why did she feel so strongly that she wasn’t dying? That with the medication on hand and the treatment there at the hospital Lena would be fine. Also, why did she feel so attached to Lena so soon after meeting? Emotions and questions spiraled in her mind as she walked towards Room 523 and she waited for things to settle so that she could go back inside.  
  
It took half an hour of two more nurses going into Room 523 and a doctor joining in before the nurse Kara rushed to before emerged and walked towards her. The worry must have shown on her face because he gave a reassuring smile. “She’s fine. With her heart and frailty, this happens sometimes where her heart gets too weak to keep up with her body’s needs. The bronchiectasis doesn’t help either. Did they not tell you when they assigned you to watch her? Thank you for getting me, but she knows she needs to stay connected to the hospital's heart monitor not her Holter monitor.”  
  
Kara looked past him at the door were the other two nurses were leaving. The doctor was still inside and if Kara concentrated hard enough she could hear an irregular pattern of beeps from a heart monitor. The nurse walked away with the okay to go back inside and Kara entered the room to find Lena laying down sound asleep. The shattered phone was gone and the doctor was writing on a pocket sized notepad with a frown on his face. He glanced Kara’s way, giving a smile knowing who she was, before glancing at the heart monitor beside Lena’s bed. As he made a few final checks over the woman on the bed, Kara moved towards a recliner across from the bed under the TV attached to the wall. She didn’t want to leave in case anything happened, but she wasn’t going to spend who knows how long in the plastic chair by Lena’s bed.  
  
When Kara settled in the chair, she focused on Lena and took in the differences that she could see while the woman was asleep in comparison to when she was awake. Her breathing still sounded labored, but it wasn’t as extreme as before. Her skin was still extremely pale but there was some color to her cheeks, at least what she could see. The most concerning thing was how Lena’s heartbeat seemed to have no pattern. It was slow and every so often it would suddenly pick up or go even slower. More often than not it would slow and Kara would glance at the doctor to see if he would do something. However, he never did and, after he left, all Kara was left with was the sound of Lena’s heart. It was frightening yet oddly soothing to listen to and soon enough Kara herself was lulled to sleep, dreaming of herself dancing with an angel.


	2. Chapter 2

“You still haven’t told me why you didn’t get home until late,” Lucy nagged for the fifth time as she and Kara finished up the last of their Chinese food. “I guess it’s lucky that place around the corner doesn’t close until midnight. But seriously, you left at like ten. God, Kara, they should just give you a room and roll out the welcome mat.”

 

Kara kept her eyes down into the container of potstickers she was eating from and tried to forget the fact she had fallen asleep in Lena’s hospital room. It was nine-thirty at night when Eliza found her in there when making her rounds, Lena still asleep with the heart monitor still beeping that irregular pattern. Apparently, Eliza was one of Lena’s doctors, the young woman having at least two working each shift, and she had thought it was nice that Lena got to spend even a brief amount of time with someone who wasn’t a doctor, nurse, or family member. It made Kara wonder if Lena had anyone that wasn’t in charge of her or related to her in her life at all.

 

“I almost starved, you know,” Lucy went on when Kara stayed silent. The dull background noise of  _ Orange is the New Black _ playing filled the silent gaps and Lucy frowned at her. “I was worried, too. I thought you forgot your way home or to get off at the right stop. You never get home that late.”

 

“I ran into Winn and we talked,” Kara said hoping a semi-truth would appease her roommate. “I might be going to the hospital again after class instead of coming straight home too.” She stood, stretching, and held out a hand for Lucy to give her the rest of the trash. “Hey, did you know Winn works with Alex?”

 

Lucy’s eyes widened and she handed over her trash. “Really? I never knew that. Winn doesn’t seem like the type. Is he secretly a top secret agent?”

 

Kara laughed as she tossed out the empty containers into the trash can and shook her head. “No, he just works on the sidelines it seems. Works on the equipment. But, still, he works for a government agency, that so doesn’t seem like him.”

 

“It doesn’t,” Lucy agreed. “But, have you ever seen him with a laptop? That’s some scary stuff.” She shuddered and spaces for a moment before looking at Kara. “So, he’s why you came home late?”

 

Kara simply hummed to avoid responding and flopped onto the couch to turn on the TV. Immediately, a phone commercial showed up on the screen and Lucy groaned. “What?” Kara asked as she looked at the sleek looking phones. She always went with Lord Tech’s phones so she never paid attention to the other phones out there.

 

“I need the new L-Phone, I’m still using the L-Phone 3x and they came out with the 5x just last month,” Lucy whines as she dramatically collapsed onto Kara’s lap. “I refuse to ask my dad for money too. He’s being such a dick face.”

 

“Don’t you ask him to pay for law school?” Kara asked as she patted Lucy’s face with a snicker.

 

“That’s different,” Lucy grumbled as she grabbed Kara’s hand and moved it away. “Speaking of military people, when is your aunt coming back to town?”

 

Kara groaned and rolled her eyes. She would not give into Lucy’s weird fascination with her aunt. It didn’t help that Astra liked to come over just to end up talking to Lucy for hours when she was in National City. Before Kara could reply, a news segment caught her attention. “No way,” she murmured as a bald man was being interviewed on his company. “No friggin’ way.”

 

Lucy glanced at the TV and then back at Kara with a confused look. “What? That’s Lex Luthor, right? Isn’t he friends with your cousin?”

 

Kara mentally smacked herself in the head. How could she have forgotten something like the last name of one of Clark’s closest friends? “I meet his sister,” Kara muttered as she pulled out her phone to text Clark. When she looked down at Lucy, there was a confused look on her best friend’s face. “Lex Luthor’s sister. Or relative or something.”

 

“I’ve never heard of a sister or anything,” Lucy told her. “The Luthors are on TV a lot, too, but I’ve never seen anyone besides Lillian and Lex Luthor.”

 

Kara frowned and wondered if they kept Lena hidden from the world because of her condition or some other reason. Either way she had to ask Clark. Yet, looking at the time and remembering the fact she had class in the morning, perhaps getting into a conversation with her cousin wasn’t the best idea. “Hey, let’s go to sleep. I have class in the morning. And you have them, too?”

 

“Why is that a question, of course I have class I’m a law student,” Lucy said as she got to her feet and moved towards her room in the apartment. “I just have them later than you.”

 

Kara frowned but turned off the TV and lights before heading to her own room. She wasn’t tired after sleeping for so long in Lena’s room but she needed her mind to still after learning who she thinks Lena is and from the guilt of lying to her best friend. So, instead of sleeping she grabbed her keyboard and headphones to play without waking Lucy.

 

Sitting on her bed, Kara situated her keyboard on her lap and pulled up her playlist on her phone. The first song she got after hitting shuffle would be the one she worked on. She blinked at the title of the song as “White Blood _ ” _ by Oh Wonder softly filled her room, sounding louder than it really was in the quiet of the apartment. The haunting melody weaved into her being and her fingers twitched in the anticipation to play. Part of her wondered if Lena would like the song or if it would hit too close to home considering her illness.

 

“I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go. Can't do it alone, can't do it alone. I'm ready to run through the heat of the sun. Can't do it alone, can't do it alone. I'm ready to fall, so tired of it all. Down deep in a hole, can't do it alone. I'm ready to climb this mountain inside. Impossible heights,” she sang softly as she started to play. Before she even got to the chorus, her fingers froze and she stopped.

 

Why? Why was this song making her freeze? She’s played sadder pieces, this is nothing compared to those. Then why can she not finish? Why can’t she get past the first verse? Sighing, she picked up her phone and hit shuffle again to get a different song. This time is was “My Heart Is Broken” by Evanescence and, for the briefest of seconds, Kara felt her heart ache. It was as if in another life this song made her think of something that made her want to tear the world apart and scream “It’s not fair!”. The feeling was gone in an instant and she shrugged, starting to play the first of many songs that night.

 

As Kara finished up her last song, her alarm went off and she began to regret playing all night long. She would have only gotten about six hours of sleep, but that would have been better than nothing. As she got dressed, it became clear how tired she was and how much a stop at Noonan’s on the way to National City University would be a godsend. Tugging on her boots, she looked at her schedule on the fridge and sighed at her class schedule. No music related classes at all, just Psych and English. Mondays and Wednesdays were her least favorite days without a single music class. She usual spent the afternoons on homework to get it out of the way, but that day she was thinking of going to the hospital.

 

“Kara, make me breakfast,” Lucy grumbled half-asleep as she emerged from her room in a simple tank top and panties. Kara rolled her eyes and pulled out one of Lucy’s microwave chicken biscuits. “Thank you.” Lucy sat at one of the barstools at the kitchen island and her head thumped against the counter. If Kara didn’t know better, she would have thought the woman was asleep. She was too needy when she was half-asleep.

 

“Lucy, wakey wakey,” Kara said as the microwave beeped, setting the previously frozen chicken biscuit in front of her roommate who barely opened her eyes to look at. “I have to go, Sam asked to meet me before class so I gotta get going. I’ll pick up the groceries on the way home.”

 

The only acknowledgment Kara got was a tired moan as Lucy pulled the plate to be between her arms before resting her head back against the counter with a thump. “Don’t cause any brain damage,” Kara said in a singsong voice before leaving. She locked the door for Lucy and rushed down the stairs so she could start her trek.

 

She didn’t need a bus to get to campus, her apartment was close enough that it was unnecessary. In addition, if she walked she could stop and get a coffee to go from Noonan’s. And that’s exactly what she did, getting her usual order before dashing to be able to meet Sam. The two of them had Psych and English together which is how they became friends. Sam was a business major and planned to work for a company in the city. She already had the job waiting for her just like Kara was waiting with her coffee in one hand and phone in the other.

 

“Kara!” Sam called out as she rushed over with what looked like a violin case in her hand. “Hey, sorry I had to meet a family friend and get this. You go to the hospital today, right? I’m going there too after class before the one I have at five. My friend is there and she asked her brother for her violin. Glad it was this and not her cello.”

 

“That’s cool, I hope the staff let’s her play. Violins make beautiful music,” Kara said as she began to head inside. It was starting to get cold even though it wasn’t yet the end of October. The Supers Foundation hadn’t even begun to plan their Halloween Masquerade, yet, which was probably bad since it was one of their biggest charity events.

 

“Well considering who she is I bet they will figure out a way to let her,” Sam said with a laugh as they entered the building their class was held in. “She’s been in there for months, though, so I don’t know why she suddenly ask for it yesterday.”

 

Kara hummed as she took a sip of her coffee and sat down on a bench, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the wall. “Maybe I’ll see if your friend wants to do a duet with me one day. Why are they in the hospital?”

 

Sam sat down and took Kara’s coffee from her to take a sip, giving it back as she hummed. “I don’t know the specifics, but her heart is weak and so is her body. She has this condition that causes her to cough up blood sometimes too. She’s been like that since she was little and it’s gotten worse over the years. Now, she can hardly walk without potentially collapsing.”

 

Kara suddenly turned to look at Sam, causing the other woman to squeak in surprise. “You mean Lena Luth-“

 

Sam’s hands were over Kara’s mouth in an instant and there was a serious expression on her face as she shook her head. She removed her hand glancing coldly at people walking by, making them hurry along past them, and cleared her throat. “The Luthors don’t want Lena to be as well known as them. They are extremely popular public figures, especially Lex, and with Lena’s health what it is they want her out of the spotlight. She agrees, too. All she wants is a peaceful life.”

 

Kara studied Sam and nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t know. I just met her yesterday when I was working with the Supers and then I was assigned to sit with her while volunteering. She seems really nice, I hope her condition improves.”

 

“They think it will with medication and rest,” Sam said, relaxing a bit. “She’s also on the waitlist for a heart transplant. I am glad she met you, though. You are always at the hospital and she can use some friends.”

 

Kara hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing. She had assumed Lena had little to know friends but even if it was just one friend, she was glad it was Sam. For some reason, the mysteriousness of Lena just grew knowing they had a mutual friend. What other interesting things about Lena were out there? Kara wondered if that mysterious air around Lena was what made her want to go back, made her want to visit and talk to her.

 

“Do you think they will let me sneak her in some donuts?” Sam asked as Kara took a thoughtful sip of her drink. “Like the good kind. Like Krispy Kremes not Dunkin Donuts.”

 

“Somewhere a mob is forming to kill you claiming you speak blasphemies,” Kara teased into her coffee. A question found its way into her mind and she had little time to dwell on it before she voiced it. “Did Lena ever attend school? Like at all?”

 

Sam raised an eyebrow and took the coffee from her. “She was homeschooled all her life. Our parents are friends which is how I know her. I would always bring her baked goods and play board games with her. I really hate seeing her like this, which sounds horrible of me, but I can’t visit her just to see her getting worse and worse.”

 

Kara’s brows furrowed as she looked at the violin case and a question formed in her mind she didn’t want to ask but wanted to know the answer to. Was Lena dying? It shouldn’t be a surprise if she was, Lena was in the hospital staying in long term care, of course it was a possibility. But Lena looked younger that her and Kara was almost twenty-one. That meant Lena had to be a year or two younger. It didn’t seem right for someone that young to be dying.

 

Sam stood and handed Kara her coffee back before stretching her arms over her head. “Well, it’s time for class so let’s get our usual seats before stupid Gayle steals them for her and Imra.”

 

“At least they don’t make out in class,” Kara said. She tossed her coffee away finding Sam has drained the last of it and followed her friend to their seats in the back. “If I find them half dressed, making out again in the hospital bathroom then I’m going to make sure they do Supers stuff at different times.”

 

“You’d think they were high schoolers,” Sam sighed as she flopped down into her chair. Neither of them cared for the lecture room that their psychology class was in, but they did like the fact it was a nap class. The professor put all the slides online so most people just pretended to work or they napped when the lights were off. “Well, I guess if I went from dating Mike Matthews to a hot blonde I would act the same.”

 

“Did I just hear my name?” Mike asked, turning in his seat in front of him. Sam cursed loud enough to cause several people to glance their way. She was not a fan of Mike at all and, despite how obvious it was, she hated people finding out she didn’t like golden boy Mike Matthews. “Hey, ladies, how are you? Sam, when are you going to join the Supers Foundation? I know Kara has asked you about it. We don’t just have heroes, some kids love the villains.”

 

“Ha ha ha, so I’m a villain? Like you can call yourself a hero, frat boy.” Sam pulled out her laptop and earbuds to watch Netflix. “One day I’m going to rain down a world of pain on you, fucking frat boy.”

 

Kara hid her snicker behind her hand as Mike shifted his attention to her. “I don’t know who’s worse, Sam or Lucy,” he grumbled as he slid Kara’s binder of sheet music to him. He began to doodle in a corner. She was too distracted by  _ Orange Is The New Black  _ playing in Sam’s laptop to bother shooing him away though.

 

“You did cheat on Imra,” Kara absently pointed out. “And you didn’t try to hide it at all.”

 

“I was drunk,” he said as if that helped him in any way, shape, or form.

 

“You still cheated.” Kara slid her binder away from him and work on composing her own music. She really didn’t want to deal with Mike right now when she was trying to figure how why Lena was so heavily on her mind.

  
  
  


The class went on as usual, boring and uneventful, and the next class Kara had was equally boring. At the end of english, she stuffed all her stuff in her bag and glanced at Sam to see what she was doing. Her lips quirked into a smile when she saw the other woman looking up where they could stop for donuts on the way. Kara might get some for the children who could have some, it would be nice to see their faces light up getting the sugary treats. That was if she could afford it.

 

“Hey, there’s a Krispy Kreme on the way if we walk,” Sam told her as Kara looked at her fund. “I think I’ll have to get her favorite to apologizing for not visiting for a month.” Brown eyes studied Kara as a frown formed at the sight of her bank account balance. “Short on cash again?”

 

Kara sighed and shrugged. “I get money from Eliza every month, I just went overboard this month cause Lucy devours everything in sight.”

 

Sam laughed and began the long trek to the hospital. “You know, that’s what everyone says about you. Speaking of everyone, when can I go to one of your ‘Game Nights’? Is it cause I’m new? Everyone seems to be connected through you or is part of the Supers so I feel like the newbie who only knows the attached at the hip couple and frat boy.”

 

Kara smirked and adjusted her glasses as they exited the building into the brisk, autumn air. “I’m working on getting you in, Sammy, don’t worry. I’ve just been so busy with class and stuff so I haven’t really organized anything yet. My sister just takes everyone out to this dive bar usually.” She felt like Alex would get along with Sam pretty well. Sam’s softness might be good for Alex.

 

They chatted as they walked down the streets of National City and were happy to find that the Krispy Kreme wasn’t busy. Eating a few extra donuts they bought with the rest hidden away in Kara’s bag, they talked about Kara’s music. Sam was always a good soundboard to work off for knowing what songs would be good to cover and finding new songs she wouldn’t have heard of otherwise. Mostly, Kara just listened to the recommended songs to her playlists that Spotify had and Lucy’s recommendations were terrible.

 

As the hospital came into sight, Kara couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. Maybe it was the donuts or maybe something was wrong, but Sam’s happy chatter pushed the feeling aside as Kara replied to her friend. When they entered the building, a familiar looking woman in designer clothing was talking to the nurse working the front desk. Immediately, the laugh on Sam’s lips died as she rushed over to the woman who seemed to know her.

 

“Is something wrong? I thought you and Lex couldn’t visit today which is why he asked me to bring her violin,” Sam questioned the woman Kara soon realized was Lillian Luthor. “Is she worse?” Sam hardly glanced at Kara as she hesitantly walked up behind her, unsure if she belonged or not barely knowing Lena at all.

 

Lillian glanced at Kara in a way that made her blood run cold. It was the look of a business woman who could wrangle any boardroom thrown at her. It was cold and calculating, but under the mask Kara could see fear and panic. Under the mask of a business woman was a mother worried about her child. The mask slipped a little seeing that Kara was with Sam and years of worry and concern began to show.

 

“She had some tests run today and let’s just she’s not in a good mood,” Lillian told Sam. “Lex is with her now and I’m just about to go up to see her myself.” Lillian’s gaze shifted over to Kara again and she studied her for a moment. “Who are you? A friend of Sam’s?”

 

Kara nodded and gave a timid smile. “I’m friends with Sam, yes. I also volunteer at the hospital and I’m a member of the Supers Foundation. My name is Kara Danvers.” She left out how she had met Lena the day before and how she had fallen asleep in Lena’s room. She hardly knew Lena so why mention she had met her and it was unnecessary information the fact she had fallen asleep in the room.

 

Lillian raised a perfect eyebrow but turned her attention back to Sam. “I think it would be best to wait a bit before going up, Sam. I think it should be you who gives her the violin, something good after whatever awaits me upstairs. It was nice to meet you, Miss Danvers.” Before she could fully turn to leave, Sam gave her a short hug earning herself a grateful smile.

 

They watched as Lillian disappeared towards the elevator and Sam pressed a hand to her forehead before digging through Kara’s bag for the donuts. “God, why is there never good news?” Sam sighed as she pulled out the pastries. She moved to sit at one of the chairs in the waiting area and stuffed a donut into her mouth. “I wish every time I came there wasn't bad news. I feel like the harbinger of bad news.”

 

Kara pulled out a donut and held it over Sam’s head like a halo. “You’re not a harbinger of bad news. You’re the one who comes in after the bad news is delivered to cheer people up. Your the donut angel. You even have the halo to prove it.” She gave Sam a dopey grin when she laughed and Kara handed the donut to her friend. “You have the violin, you got the donuts, you have you, Sam. You are the one meant to cheer her up and bring something good to chase away the bad.”

 

Sam smiled faintly and shook her head. “I’m not that much of a cheerful person when I see my friend from childhood in that bed withering away,” she said. “But you have a point, so I’ll do my best. Hey, if you are playing the piano I might bring her out if I can. You should record your music and text me to give to her. Your music is the ultimate darkness chaser.”

 

Kara blushed and adjusted her glasses. She doubted her music could do better than what someone’s childhood friend could. It was still her dream to make people happy through her music, though. She wanted to make them smile and forget how cruel the world could be. Maybe that’s what was drawing her to Lena. This need, this desire, to make the woman smile and feel better despite her condition. To help Lena forget the limitations her body and heart put on her. Kara wanted to make Lena smile and be happy even if it was just for the briefest of moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has read this and left comments and kudos they mean so much to me. If you wanna follow me on twitter you can find me @witchofink and if you wanna check out a playlist I made for this fic on Spotify then click [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/witchofapples/playlist/3lLEd70MOiicImAQxHFnPr?si=aeK5D_V1T0C_6xraGAAUOQ)


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